Volume 3

Champagne

Background

Champagne is the ultimate celebratory drink. It is used to toast
newlyweds, applaud achievements, and acknowledge milestones. A large part
of its appeal is due to the bubbles that spill forth when the bottle is
uncorked. These bubbles are caused by tiny drops of liquid disturbed by
the escaping carbon dioxide or carbonic acid gas that is a natural
by-product of the double fermentation process unique to champagne.

Today, fine champagne is considered a mark of sophistication. But this was
not always so. Initially, wine connoisseurs were disdainful of the
sparkling wine. Furthermore in 1688, Dom Perignon, the French monk whose
name is synonymous with the best vintages, worked very hard to reduce the
bubbles from the white wine he produced as Cellarer of the Benedictine
Abbey of Haut-Villers in France's Champagne region. Ironically, his
efforts were hampered by his preference for fermenting wine in bottles
instead of casks, since bottling adds to the build-up of carbonic acid
gas.

The Champagne province, which stretches from Flanders on the north to
Burgundy in the south; from Lorraine in the east to Ile de France in the
west, is one of the northern-most wine producing regions. For many years,
the region competed with Burgundy to produce the best still red table
wines. However, red grapes need an abundance of sun, something that the
vineyards of Champagne do not receive on a regular basis. By the time
Perignon took over the Abbey cellars in 1668, he was studying ways to
perfect the harvesting of the Pinot Noir grape in order to produce a
high-quality white wine.

Often called black grapes, the Pinot Noir actually bears a skin that is
blue on the outside and red on the inside. The juice is white but care
must be taken during harvesting so that the skin does not break and color
the juice.

Climate is a major factor in winemaking and nowhere is this more apparent
that in the case of champagne. The inconsistency and shortness of the
Champagne region's summers lead inevitably to inconsistent
harvests. Therefore, a supply of wine made during better years is saved so
that it may be blended with the juice of grapes harvested during poorer
seasons. When the wine is stored after the fall harvest, it begins to
ferment but ceases when the cold winter months set in. In late spring or
early summer, the wine begins to ferment again. Extra sugar is added to
that which is left in the wine. The wine is then bottled and tightly
corked. The carbonic acid that would normally escape into the air if the
wine were stored in casks builds up in the bottle, ready to rush forth
when the cork is released.

In the early days of champagne-making, this volatility was something of a
problem. Twenty to 90% of the bottles exploded, giving rise to the
practice of wearing iron face masks when walking through champagne
cellars. By 1735, a royal ordinance established regulations governing the
shape, size, and weight of champagne bottles. Corks were to be 1.5 in
(3.75 cm) long and secured to the collar of the bottle with strong pack
thread. Deep cellars with constant temperatures also keep the bottles from
exploding. The chalky earth of the Champagne region make it ideal for
these cellars.

Three years after Perignon's death, Canon Godinot recorded the
monk's specifications for the making of champagne:

Use only Pinot Noir grapes.

Prune the vine aggressively. Do not allow them to grow higher than three
feet.

Harvest the grapes carefully to keep the skins intact. Keep the grapes
as cool as possible. Work the fields early in the morning or on showery
days when the weather is very hot. Pick over the grapes while still in
the fields. Reject all broken or bruised grapes.

Set up the press as close to the fields as possible. If the grapes must
be transported, use the slower pack animals such as mules or donkeys
rather than horses to prevent the grapes from being jostled.

Do not tread on the grapes or allow the skins into the juices.

Although modern champagne vintners have the use of technology to
streamline certain parts of the champagne-making process, the steps have
not changed significantly over the last three centuries.

Raw Materials

The main ingredient in champagne is the Pinot Noir grape. The grapes, left
in bunches, are carefully picked so that the skin pigment does not stain
the juice. Vineyard workers pick through the grapes, removing any that are
unripe or mildewy. The grape bunches are weighed, generally 8,820 lb
(4,000 kg) are used for a pressing. The grapes are taken directly to the
press in a further effort to prevent the skin from coloring the juice.

During the double fermentation, several other natural ingredients are
added to the wine. Yeast, usually saccharmonyces, is added during the
first fermentation to help the grapes' natural sugar convert to
alcohol. A
liquer de tirage,
cane sugar melted in still champagne wine, is added. In the second
fermentation stage, a
liquer d'expedition
is added. This consists of cane sugar, still wine, and brandy. The amount
of sugar added at this stage determines the type of champagne, from sweet
to dry. Although each vintner has its own standards, the general guide is
as follows: a 0.5% solution yields the driest champagne, known as brut;

1% is added for extra sec; 3% for sec; and 5% for demi-sec, the sweetest
type of champagne.

The Manufacturing
Process

Pressing

1 The grapes are carefully loaded into the press, a square wooden floor
surrounded by adjustable wooden rails and topped by a heavy oak lid. The
lid is mechanically lowered and raised at intervals, causing the grapes
to burst and the juice to pour out. The juices run through the rails
into a sloped groove that carries the juice to stainless steel vats. The
first pressing is called the
cuvee
and is the best juice from a batch of grapes. It is kept separate from
subsequent pressings. The cuvee begins to ferment immediately. As scum
rises to the top it is thrown off. Some of the scum falls to the bottom
of the vat; this sediment is called lees. The juice, called must,
continues to ferment for 24-36 hours when it gradually returns to its
normal temperature.

First fermentation

2 The cuveés are moved into temperature-controlled stainless steels
vats and fermented for several weeks at 64-68°F (18-20°C). The
amount of time varies depending on the house specifications. Some
champagne producers also put the wine through a malolactic fermentation
process at this point to reduce acidity.

Blending the wines

3 The head cellarer
(chefde caves)
and cellar assistants taste and blend wines from several different
pressings to obtain the desired taste. The blended wines are churned in
vats by sweeping mechanical arms.

Bottling and the second fermentation

4 The blended wine is drawn off into bottles. The liquer de tirage is
added and the bottles are sealed with crown caps. Because the carbonic
acid cannot escape through the glass, it builds up to a tremendous
pressure, equal to that in a bus tire.

Aging

5 French law requires that non-vintage wines be aged for at least one
year. Vintage wines must be aged for at least three years. Each wine
house adds to this minimum requirement as desired. Non-vintage wines are
those that result from a thin harvest and are combined with reserves
from past good vintages. Non-vintage wine is not sold under a particular
year. Vintage wines, on the other hand, are made from Champagne grapes
harvested in the same year. Vintage wines are rare, produced only when
the summer has been unusually hot and sunny. The year is printed on the
cork and the label.

Racking (Remuerurage)

6 During the aging period, the bottles of champagne are turned daily to
keep the sediment caused by dead yeast cells from settling on the
bottom. Skilled workers, with quick hands, twist the bottles one-eighth
of a turn each day. The bottles start out in the horizontal position; by
the end of the aging period, the bottles are vertical with the necks
pointed towards the floor so that the sediment has collected on the
inside face of the cork.

Dégorgement

7 The bottleneck is plunged into freezing liquid, causing a pellet of
frozen champagne to form in the neck. The crown cap is carefully removed
and the ice expels the sediment.

Liquor d'expedition is added

8 The mixture of reserve wines, sugar, and brandy is added to the
bottles of champagne to create the desired sweetness.

Corkage

9 A long, fat cork that has been branded with the house name is
hand-driven halfway into the bottleneck. Then the exposed portion is
squashed down into the neck and secured with a wire muzzle. The bottles
are labelled and stored in the cellar until shipment at which time they
are packed into crates or cartons.

Quality Control

Guided by government regulations, each champagne house sets its own
standards for the aging of its wines. In France, where the finest
champagne is produced, the Institute National des Appelations
d'Origin also places strict standards on the quality of soil that
may be used for the growing of Champagne grapes. However, every champagne
producing country regulates the production and marketing of its wines to
some extent. Furthermore, each step of the champagne-making process is
presided over by veteran experts who are skilled in tasting and blending.

The Future

It is inevitable that the labor-intensive process of making champagne will
be further mechanized in the twenty-first century. Already, agricultural
advances have reduced the threat of rot in the vineyard, thus reducing the
number of workers needed to pick over the grapes in the fields. Some of
the larger champagne houses have replaced the traditional round wooden
press with a horizontal model inside of which a rubber bag inflates and
gently presses the grapes against the sides of the press. Experiments are
underway to develop a mechanized method for rotating the bottles to
replace the costly hand-turning method. To date, none have proved
effective, but industry observers believe that the change is in-escapable.

User Contributions:

You may want to edit this site:
Some facts are incorrect, inaccurate or misspelled, i.e.,
Remuage is known as riddling, not racking. Racking is another process all-together.
Saccharomyces, Champagne (always capitalized).
And what is Carbonic acid? Perhaps you mean carbon dioxide? CO2?
Lees is not scum. Not even close.

Martha

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